Mike's conversation on push vs. pull SEO continues at Clickz today. He's specifically seeking input on how Mom & Pop sized businesses can utlilize the services of SEO with a very limited budget. I thought that, being responsible for some of this heated debate, I'd open up with a few options for the budget minded business seeking SEO.

First off, before pursuing any of the solutions below, I'd read the beginner's guide to SEO, this list of search engine ranking factors and join the Cre8asite forums. I suggest these steps to almost everyone I talk to or email nowadays.

Once you've undergone those, here are some options you can use your $2000 on:

The Ultra-Low-Budget Option

1. Buy Steve Krug's "Don't Make Me Think" - $23.10
2. Buy Aaron Wall's "SEO Book" - $79.00
3. Buy an old copy of Dreamweaver ~ $81.00
4. Build and Promote yourself - Free in $$, Expensive in Time

The Link Lover's Option

1. Buy a month of service from Andy Hagans ~ $1000
2. Get Greg Jarboe to send out a one-shot Press Release ~ $700
3. Get a Yahoo! Directory Listing - $299

Consulting Options

1. Get a Site Review & Link Recommendation Report from
1. Barry Welford
2. Alan K'Necht
3. David Wallace
2. Simply implement the suggestions :)

The Slightly over $2000 Options

1. Scottie Claiborne's Site Review - $3000
2. Debra Mastaler's Custom Link Building - $2500
3. Patrick Gavin's Link Building Services ~ $2000

The "Link Bait" Option

1. Get one GREAT idea for a tool, service, resource or page - bounce it off some folks in the forums (or privately through email to an SEO you trust)
2. Hire a developer who can help you build it - my choice is to use Craigslist - post with a budget of $2000

SEO doesn't have to be expensive and while having a budget certainly makes the task easier, I'm sure that the readers here will come up with even more options.